Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
05-18-2011, 11:59 PM
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Car: 87' IROC
Engine: L98
Transmission: T56
Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
I did a complete suspension, brake, and steering rebuild last year. I choose the Spohn front end rebuild kit. Installation went fine.
Fast forward to today and about 1000 miles later.
I had to remove my centerlink in order to install a new oil pan. When I went to reinstall the centerlink, one of the inner tie rod studs and then one of the centerlink studs stripped out before reaching the GM spec torque of 35 ft-lb. This is only the second time the castle nuts had been tightened.
I am a religious torque wrench user and have no reason to believe my torque wrench is out of spec.
At this time I cannot recommend the Spohn front end rebuild kit and all of my steering linkage will be replaced with MOOG components.
John
Fast forward to today and about 1000 miles later.
I had to remove my centerlink in order to install a new oil pan. When I went to reinstall the centerlink, one of the inner tie rod studs and then one of the centerlink studs stripped out before reaching the GM spec torque of 35 ft-lb. This is only the second time the castle nuts had been tightened.
I am a religious torque wrench user and have no reason to believe my torque wrench is out of spec.
At this time I cannot recommend the Spohn front end rebuild kit and all of my steering linkage will be replaced with MOOG components.
John
05-19-2011, 07:08 AM
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Re: Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
Have you tried contacting Spohn about it? Steve use to be very good at customer support/service.
05-19-2011, 09:43 AM
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Re: Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
I do agree, Spohn has good customer service. I have purchased thousands of dollars of parts from them and they have always been good to me.
06-30-2011, 10:41 AM
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Re: Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
I always wondered , what kind of warrenty do Spohn parts have compared to say Moog or TRW.
06-30-2011, 06:30 PM
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Re: Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
im sure Spohn doesnt forge their own steering parts. they are just relabeled parts.
FWIW, sombody else had a PST setup fail too recently.
wonder who spohn uses?
06-30-2011, 06:40 PM
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Re: Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
I used a Spohn kits several years ago now and at that time it was all Moog parts, just sold as a kit.
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06-30-2011, 08:58 PM
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Re: Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
I used Spohns bolts for a rebuild on attaching the strut to spindle. 3 of the 4 failed and stripped before reaching GM's tq spec. I reused stock 90K bolts with no problem.
07-01-2011, 11:21 AM
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Re: Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
No doubt. They may use different moving parts though. The grease cap does say Spohn on it, so at a minimum they were at least goofed with at some point.
07-01-2011, 11:23 AM
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Re: Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
They are not reboxed Moog parts. They have a very different coating as well. They have a very nice Zinc plating while the stock Moogs are painted. They may be Moog's but they have had some work done on them.
07-01-2011, 11:25 AM
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Re: Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
We aren't talking about spindle botls. We are talking about front end rebuild kits. However I have used Spohn's spindle bolts with no issue.
07-02-2011, 01:38 AM
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Re: Spohn front end rebuild kit thread failure.
Ok here are a bunch of pictures showing the difference. Maybe someone can compare them to the PST parts. These are Spohn (silver) vs MOOG (black).
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